


The Heart of the TARDIS

by Poetry



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-15
Updated: 2010-01-15
Packaged: 2017-10-06 07:24:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poetry/pseuds/Poetry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three times the TARDIS transformed people, and four times she might have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Heart of the TARDIS

"It's so bright," said Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen. "Beautiful..."

The TARDIS' heart was like the rivers of Blon's home village when the when the red-gold sunset danced over the waters. The rivers flowed into her, and she flowed into the rivers. _You wanted to murder me and the ones I love_ she sang as Blon's soul pooled around her, so achingly cold, _but I forgive you_ and her forgiveness was lovelier than rivers.

It was the warmth of the golden waters that sparked renewal within her. Blon's stolen face smiled; then her inner face smiled, and she was reborn.

* * *

The light embraced Rose's eyes, and the Doctor's golden girls became sisters. They sang in each other's blood. _We could be so much together what shall we create_ and their melodies intertwined into _I am the queen of the pack who went terribly wrong who did the bad thing who left home and family but found a new pack along the way_ and the song became a howl across time and space, a howl to lead Herself back. She became Her own pilot, and flew to join Her pack. She stepped outside of Herself into the smallness of space.

The universe was so tiny. The Pack was everything. "I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself."

* * *

The great gold eyes of the Bad Wolf stared into the abyss and summoned forth Her pack-brother.

Jack heard the words spoken: "How can I let go of this? I bring life." He also heard the words unspoken: _How can I let go of you everything comes to dust everything dies except for you my love_ and breath rushed joyously into his lungs and for a glorious moment, he was the Bad Wolf's brother, their golden howls joined as one voice. He was one of the pack; they would never abandon him. _Forever will I love and protect you I promise I promise._

Then the golden light was caged, and the wolf ran from Jack's chest, but it left a golden claw in his heart that drags him back from the abyss every time he falls in. _Forever_ sings the light as it wrests him from the chasm. _I promise._

* * *

The controls were locked isomorphically. The TARDIS could only travel between the end of the world and a coordinate between the Silfrax and Mestophelix galaxies, millions of light years from any planet or star. The Master, in a burst of feral rage, grabbed a lever on the console and _pulled_. The TARDIS' hum reeled into the upper octaves as the casing of the console peeled back under the strength of the Time Lord's arm. The TARDIS' heart extended itself to him and folded him into itself. For a moment, the Master had a wild hope that the light would consume him. Instead it enveloped, caressed, and this the Master could not bear.

_Hello little one_ she sang, and the Master's consciousness writhed in the golden miasma and screamed protest. _Oh yes you are so little but you want so much to be in control of everything to be a part of the universe to be a part of him_ and suddenly, he was.

As the Futurekind battered the door, the Doctor grabbed Jack's wrist and input the TARDIS' coordinates into the vortex manipulator. When they arrived in the TARDIS, there was no visible trace left of the Master, but he was there still. He always would be.

In the year 2045, Dr. Rosalin Gutierrez published the first unified field theory, reconciling the probabilistic equations of quantum mechanics with general relativity using matrix string theory. She discovered that the tiny, vibrating strings that give matter all of its properties have a universal rhythm, a thrumming that drives the universe: da-da-da-DUM, da-da-da-DUM. Soon after receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics, Dr. Gutierrez began her descent into insanity. She claimed in her ravings that the Drumbeat spoke to her, saying, _I am the Drumbeat; I am the Master of all._

* * *

When Martha told the story of how she defeated the Master, it never occurred to anyone that the task was impossible to achieve on her own.

There were times when Martha was too exhausted to continue. The crowds were gathered, their faces upturned like so many wilted flowers towards the sun, but she had nothing left for them. Those times, when her strength failed her, Martha would reach for the key tucked in her breast and clench it in her fist. She could feel the key blaze golden against her palm. A light would glow under her eyelids, a feminine voice would entwine with hers singing _together we shall weave hope,_ and she became the Storyteller.

When the Doctor left to cremate the Master, Martha stayed behind in the TARDIS. Small fragments of the Paradox Machine were still strewn about, despite Jack's best efforts to remove them. After a frenzied hour of hauling out its blackened, twisted remains, Martha forced him to stop and bullied him into his room, refusing to leave until he crawled into bed with his filthy clothes still on.

Alone in the console room, Martha leaned into one of the coral struts, embracing it with her whole body. "Thank you," she said, face pressed into the warm branch. "I couldn't have done it without you."

* * *

Donna's grandfather was beginning to scare her.

He had always thought the world of Donna, but lately, he expected more from her than ever before. He would drop hints about applying for a permanent job, or going back to school, or even traveling the world. Every day after work, he would ask her if anything exciting had happened. Her answer was always the same. Why would something exciting happen to her? How could her life suddenly change for the better?

One evening, Donna and Wilfred were sitting next to each other on the couch watching telly. It was a cold night, and Donna hadn't taken off her long brown coat. She reached into her pocket and felt a Yale key on a string, a key she couldn't remember ever using.

Suddenly, it felt strangely warm to the touch. Her eyes were closed, yet she could see a golden mist, and a warm voice chanting _you could do so much more you could do anything you could do everything you can make people better_ and for some reason, this was a voice that Donna couldn't help but trust. So when her grandfather suddenly asked, "Donna, what do you want to do with your life?" she opened her eyes, smiled mischievously, and said:

"I think I'll do something ... brilliant."

* * *

The renegade Time Lord piloted the Mark 40 TARDIS away from Gallifrey for all he was worth, ignoring the repeated summonses hailing the ship on its largest screen. His granddaughter was watching a different screen with increasing alarm. "There's one still after us, Grandfather," she said in a half-scream.

He looked up from the controls for a moment. "I need you to go into the secondary console room, dear. No cause for alarm. I just need a moment alone." He smiled with his eyes. The girl who would one day be called Susan let out a shuddering breath and left the room. As she left, the room became cooler and darker. The outlaw felt this as a personal rebuke. He suppressed a shiver, exhaled, and began to speak.

"We're not connecting," said the runaway to the stolen TARDIS. "I know I did you wrong, but I need you to understand. Is there any way we can - " The TARDIS' hum deepened, drowning out all speech, all thought. Golden light seeped out of the roundels, pulsating in time with her song. The exile felt his hearts begin to beat to the same rhythm. He was seeping out of himself, telepathically, until their souls began to bleed into each other. A golden storm was brewing. "I don't let anyone in," gasped the Time Lord. "Not ever."

_You will open yourself for me_ she whispered, and the exile let his psychic defenses fall. Suddenly, the melody was pure and perfect and they were a duet of masculine and feminine, outspoken and quiet, storm and sun. She reached out first _you are a selfish rebellious child_ and he felt small and fragile before her unwavering solidity and her voice was so beautiful and strong _but you want to make people better you want to make the universe better you want to feel the way your people never have_ and he sang back _you can help me you could span the universe never trapped never leashed_ \- their voices intertwined - _you could feel everything._

The light furled itself into the roundels, leaving his brown eyes veined with gold. He stroked the console slowly. "We'll take care of each other. I promise."

One of the screens flickered to life. An Imperial Guard of Gallifrey, flustered and quaking with rage, shouted, "Hailing Mark 40 TARDIS three four one apple slash aqua! We demand your pilot's identity!"

He looked up at the screen, his hand rooted to the TARDIS console. "This is the Doctor speaking."


End file.
